2020 WVA Congress Closing Ceremony - COVID-19 Live Panel Session

The final session of WVAC 2020 will be a COVID-19 panel discussion held on Friday, May 15th, 2020. This session will be free for all veterinarians to attend.

Covid-19 LIVE Panel Session

WVAC2020 Closing Ceremony

Saturday 16th May 7am NZ time (7-9am) | Friday 3pm 15th May Canadian time (3-5pm) | Friday 8pm 15th May UK time (8-10pm)

Our final session of WVAC 2020 will be a COVID-19 panel session, bringing together some of the world’s most influential veterinary voices. This session will be free for veterinarians world-wide to attend as it is such an important and highly relevant topic.

Professor Nigel French – Professor of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health at Massey University / Co-Director of One Heath Aotea

Professor Michael Baker - Professor of Public Health at University of Otago

Dr Mathew Stone - Deputy Director General – International Standards and Science at the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)

Dr Daniella Dos Santos - President of the British Veterinary Association

Dr Scott Newman - Manager for the Africa Regional Initiative, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Professor Scott Weese - Professor for Public Health and Zoonoses at Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), University of Guelph, and Chief of Infection Control at OVC Teaching Hospital

Session chaired by Anthony Chadwick, CEO and Founder of The Webinar Vet.

Questions that will be discussed by the panelists:

1. Where did COVID-19 come from - is it a zoonosis?

2. How important are animals in current pandemics and how can we mitigate risk?

3. What is the degree of crossover of COVID -19 between animals and humans and how can we prevent this?

3. NZ has gone for an elimination approach – this is similar to other animal epidemics. What can we learn from this approach?

4. What are the approaches of other countries and are they working?

5. Let’s discuss COVID-19 Surveillance - Should this be in animals and people?

6. Focusing on animal health issues – are animals COVID-19 vectors?

7. The impact on Public health of COVID -19 is wider than the disease itself. It has affected livelihoods, mental and physiological wellbeing. Is this avoidable, inevitable, or can it be better managed?

8. How does COVID-19 affect food safety? Can the virus spread through food?

9. When will an effective COVID-19 vaccine be available and will the vaccine mean the end of the pandemic?

End of WVAC 2020

Session and conference will be closed by Dr Patricia Turner (WVA president). The COVID session will be followed by the official WVAC closing by WVA and NZVA and welcome to WVAC 2021 by the Taiwan veterinary medical association (TVMA).